Now is the time to decorate

Thursday

Dec 5, 2013 at 12:01 AMDec 5, 2013 at 10:37 AM

By Kevin Goode Paraglide

Dig out the tinsel, unfurl the ribbons and hang the lights. Decorating season is here.

On Nov. 7, I wrote about feeling used when stores began displaying Christmas decorations in October. I’m mature enough to say now it’s time to Clark W. Griswold (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation) every house and business.

I’m not big into decorating myself, but I enjoy the excitement my Family gets from prepping. I mentioned earlier that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because I love gathering with loved ones. I love listening to the chatter of things to come, but it’s also nice because Christmas is next. There’s something special about eating and pulling out all the decorations. Decorating after Thanksgiving is a tradition in my house.

I love watching the younger members of my Family rummage through the decorations. There is nothing better than hearing the plans, hopes and dreams that come with the Christmas wish list. There is something about placing ornaments that makes me feel like Christmas season is here.

Give me the music, the bad Christmas sweaters and all the candy canes I can stomach. Pull “‘Twas the Night before Christmas” off the shelf. Watch “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” They are classic traditions I grew up with that I have passed on to my children and have become members of my Family.

While many businesses take this as a time to exploit the public, now is the time. It no longer feels cheap. I look forward to lights everywhere. I want to see Santa with long lines of children ready to spill the beans on their list.

I’m not on Santa’s top 10 list of all time helpers to his cause, but I know no Christmas is complete without,

“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (the cartoon version of course). Christmas is coming and now is the time to breathe life into the Christmas